The Second Sunday after Epiphany
January 15, 2017
John 1:29-41

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’  I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”  Then John gave this testimony:  “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.  I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’  I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”  The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.  When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”  When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.  Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”  They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”  “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”   So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him.  It was about the tenth hour.  Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.  The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).  (NIV1984)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

“Eureka!”  Can anyone tell me what that word means?  That’s right!  It is a Greek word that very literally means, “I have found it!”  Now, do you know where that exclamation originated?  Supposedly, a man by the name of Archimedes (a mathematician/inventor who lived from approximately 287-212 B.C.) was the first person who uttered this exclamation.  Archimedes had just discovered a way to determine the purity of gold by applying the principle of specific gravity.  When it worked he said— “Eureka!  I have found it!”

There are a number of situations that could easily elicit someone to exclaim, “Eureka!”  I’m told that during the Alaskan gold rush people were prone to say, “Eureka!” when they struck gold.  Many people have been anxiously waiting for the development of a hydrogen fuel cell car— a car that emits no emissions except water.  If you are one of those individuals you are now able to say, “Eureka!”  Toyota is now producing the Mirai— a hydrogen fuel cell car!  It only costs $57,500, but that includes three years of complimentary fuel!  While the closest refueling station right now is Mill Valley, Toyota has plans to add a refueling station in Rohnert Park.  If someone is looking to purchase a house in our area that they can afford, it may take some time to find just the right one.  But, when they find it do you think they just might say, “Eureka!”?  It would not surprise me at all!

“Eureka!”  Our sermon text for today, my friends, places before us a number of people who might have said “Eureka!”— as well as one person who actually did! With the joy and the excitement that leads a person to exclaim “Eureka!” I would like us to study our sermon text for today under the theme:  Look, the Lamb of God!  As we focus on the Lamb of God let’s highlight three things.  First, we need to see what the Lamb of God has done.  Then, we need to listen to what the Lamb of God says.  Finally, we need to share the Lamb of God with others.

If you have your Bibles with you today, open them up to John chapter one.  Look at the verses which immediately precede our text for today.  John the Baptist had made such a powerful impact on the people that the religious leaders in Jerusalem sent representatives to find out if John was perhaps “the Christ”— the “Messiah” whom God had promised to send into this world.  John faithfully and humbly confessed that he is not the Christ.  He is “the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord’” (John 1:23).  We are told, however, that the very next day, “John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’”

Note very carefully, my friends, that when John points people to Jesus he not only proclaims who Jesus is, but he also proclaims what Jesus came into this world to accomplish!

“Look, the Lamb of God!”  The term “Lamb of God” has a deep rich Old Testament background that was perhaps more familiar among the people of God in the days of John the Baptist than it is among the people of God today.  Ever since the days of Moses God’s people were commanded to celebrate the Passover Feast.  This annual feast very powerfully reminded the people of God’s miraculous deliverance of His people from slavery in the land of Egypt.  At the center of that feast was the Passover Lamb— the lamb whose blood averted the destruction of the firstborn among the faithful children of God.  (See Exodus 12:11-13)  Ever since the construction of the Tabernacle God’s people were required to sacrifice two lambs every single day.  One lamb was sacrificed in the morning to atone for the sins that God’s people had committed the night before.  The other lamb was sacrificed at twilight to atone for the sins that God’s people had committed that day.  (See Exodus 29:38-42)  Ever since the days of the prophet Isaiah God’s people knew that the Promised Messiah would be “led like a lamb to the slaughter.”  (See Isaiah 53:7)  All of that undoubtedly went through the hearts and minds of John’s hearers when he pointed to Jesus of Nazareth and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

At the same time John was certainly not shy about proclaiming what the Lamb of God came here to accomplish!  The “focus” of Jesus’ “mission” here on this earth was to “take away the sin of the world!”  Notice, my friends, that John the Baptist does not focus our attention on the “individual” sins that people commit— the sins which so many people try to downplay and excuse and explain away.  Instead, John emphasizes “the sin” of the world.  The Greek word that is translated here as “sin” emphasizes the picture of “missing the mark.”  The “mark” that God requires we “hit” is the “bull’s-eye of perfection.”  Each and every time we “miss” the “bull’s-eye of perfection” we “sin.”  Each and every one of those “sins” is an abomination and a rebellion against God— an abomination and a rebellion that God says is worthy of eternal punishment in hell.  The “Lamb of God came here to “take away” or “remove” the “sin of the world.”

Take a moment to savor the glory of that truth, my friends.  Your “sin,” everything that made you an abomination in the eyes of the God of heaven has been “taken away.”  It has been completely “removed” from you through the perfect sacrifice of the spotless Lamb of God!  And if ever— if ever!— you need to be reassured of that truth listen closely to what the Pastor says to you as you stand at the altar of the Living God to receive the true body and blood of the Lamb of God  in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.  According to the Lord’s own words, the holy Sacrament of Communion guarantees to you that through faith in what the Son of God has done for you on the cross and through faith in what the Son of God gives to you in His holy Supper all of your sins are completely forgiven!

Look, the Lamb of God!  Not only is it essential to know who the Lamb of God is and what He came into this world to accomplish, but here in our text for today we are reminded of the importance of regularly listening to what the Lamb of God says.  If you still have your Bibles open to our text look at verses 37-39.  John the Baptist had once again pointed to Jesus as “the Lamb of God.”  Then we are told, “When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.  Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’  They said, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’  ‘Come,’ he replied, ‘and you will see.’  So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him.”

It was one thing for these two disciples (this would be Andrew and the apostle John) to hear about Jesus through the testimony and the preaching of John the Baptist.  Their intention now was to learn from Jesus— on a firsthand basis— all about who Jesus is and what Jesus came here to accomplish.  To achieve their goal Andrew and John took the time to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from Him directly.

We need to have that exact same goal, my friends!  No, we may not be able to literally or physically sit at Jesus’ feet and hear Him teach us the Truth.  What we can do and what we need to do is to “sit at Jesus’ feet” and learn from Him through regular attendance here in His house, through regular attendance at Bible class and Sunday school, and through regular reading and studying of the Scriptures at home.  If our only contact with God’s Word is here in church on Sunday morning, if our only “mining” of God’s Truth comes through whatever the pastor places before us we will be missing out on some of the most precious opportunities we have been given to “sit at Jesus’ feet”!  So I encourage you to follow the example that Andrew and John give to us today.  Take the time— make the time— to sit down with your Bibles so that the good Lord himself can come to you and say:  Look, the Lamb of God!

That leaves just one more point to emphasize, doesn’t it.  “Look, the Lamb of God!”   Not only do those words proclaim to us who Jesus is and what He came there to accomplish, not only do we need to be reading and studying our Bible so that God Himself can led us into a deeper understanding of what those words mean to us and for us, but we need to take that message of “Look, the Lamb of God!” and proclaim it to people around us.  Look at verses 40-41 of our text.  John writes, “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.  The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.”

Andrew was so excited that he could not keep this glorious truth to himself!  He had to share this Good News with someone— and who better to share it with than his own brother, Simon Peter!  Do we have that same excitement, my friends?  Are we so overjoyed at knowing who Jesus is and what He has accomplished for us that we can hardly wait to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the people around us?  I pray that each and every one of us is like Andrew here in our text.  But, if we are not let me suggest three things.  #1— Focus on the people you know and love, people with whom you’ve earned the right to talk about the things recorded in the Bible.  #2— Spend time, significant time, with Jesus.  Be in the Word, in worship and in fellowship with other Christians.  The desire to tell grows from there.  #3— Introduce the people you know and love to your friend, Jesus.  Make clear not just who Jesus is, but also make clear what Jesus has done for you.  Then you will also be able to make clear what Jesus has done for them as well.  “Look, the Lamb of God!”  There is an entire evangelism presentation contained in those simply glorious words!

“Eureka!”  If we truly want to use that exclamation correctly in our relationship with the Lord, my friends, we need to turn it around 180 degrees, don’t we?  In reality we did not “find” the Lamb of God.  No, rather, the Lamb of God “found” us!  Now that we have been found one of our greatest joys is to apply to our own lives the three things that are emphasized here in our text:  We need to see what the Lamb of God has done for us.  We need to listen to what the Lamb of God says to us.  We need to share the Lamb of God with others.

To God be the glory!

Amen